Contempt

It's based on the novel by Alberto Moravia.

It features Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli.

Jack Palance and Giorgia Moll, too.

And Fritz Lang.

Raoul Coutard did the photography.

Georges Delerue wrote the score.

The sound was recorded by William Sivel.

Agnes Guillemot did the editing.

Philippe Dussart and Carlo Lastricati were unit managers.

It's a film byJean-Luc Godard.

It was shot in CinemaScope and printed in color by GTC Labs.

Georges de Beauregard and Carlo Ponti produced it

for Rome-Paris Films, Films Concordia and Compagnia Cinematografia Champion.

"The cinema, "said Andre Bazin, "substitutes for our gaze

a world more in harmony with our desires. "

Contempt is a story of that world.

I don't know.

Maybe I'll go to Mom's. I don't know what I'll do later.

Come pick me up if you want.

Around 4 o'clock.

At Cinecitta.

I have to see that American.

Maybe I will.

See my feet in the mirror?

Think they're pretty?

Very.

You like my ankles?

And my knees, too?

I really like your knees.

And my thighs?

Your thighs, too.

See my behind in the mirror?

Do you think I have a cute ass?

Really.

Shall I get on my knees?

No need to.

And my breasts. You like them?

Yes, tremendously.

Gently, Paul. Not so hard.

Sorry.

Which do you like better,

my breasts,

or my nipples?

I don't know. I like them the same.

You like my shoulders?

I don't think they're round enough.

And my arms?

And my face?

Your face, too.

All of it?

My mouth, my eyes, my nose, my ears?

Yes, everything.

Then you love me totally.

I love you totally, tenderly, tragically.

Me too, Paul.

- Hello. How are you? - Fine, thanks.

Say, what's going on here? The place is empty!

Jerry fired nearly everybody.

Italian cinema is in trouble.

- Where is he? - Over there.

Where?

It's the end of cinema.

I don't think cinema will ever die.

- It's doing good business in N.Y. - Fair to middling.

Your film with Fritz Lang?

He's not working out.

Producers never know what they want.

In '33, Goebbels asked Lang to head the German film industry.

That very night, Lang left Germany.

That's Minerva, isn't it?

She's Ulysses' protector.

And that's Neptune, his mortal enemy.

Say, that's Homer.

That's art, but will the public understand?

Who's that?

Penelope.

"O my brothers, who braved 1 00,000 perils

to reach the west,

choose not to deny experience

of the unpeopled world.

Think of the seed of your creation.

You were not born to live as brutes,

but to follow virtue and knowledge."

Know it?

Sure, it's very famous. Dante.

"Night then saw all the stars.

We were filled with gladness, which soon turned to tears

until the sea closed in upon us."

I'm PaulJaval. Mr. Prokosch told you...

I'm perfectly aware.

It looks swell. I really like CinemaScope.

It wasn't made for people.

It's only good for snakes and funerals.

What's the matter, Miss Vanini? Is it about the script?

Oh, he's says it's not the same on screen as on paper.

My wife's meeting me here. I'll go see.

The Italians used to say "revolver"

instead of"checkbook."

"But Man, when he must,

Can stand fearless and alone before God

His candor is his shield

He needs neither arms nor wile

Until such time as God's absence helps him."

Fine.

That's Holderlin, isn't it?

"The Poet's Vocation."

The final line is obscure. Holderlin originally wrote...

"So long as God is not absent."

And then...

"So long as God is close to us."

Yes. The way the last lines are written,

when you've read the other two,

is no longer about God's presence.

It's God's absence that reassures Man.

Strange, but true.

How do you say "strange" in Italian?

Meet Mr. Prokosch. Camille, my wife.

I'd like you to meet my wife, Camille.

He's the one who did that western with Dietrich.

It was terrific!

I prefer M.

Your M?

We just saw it on TV. I really liked it.

Thank you. That's kind of you.

I love the scene

when Ferrer leans on the scale.

Thank you. When I finish The Odyssey...

Me?

I'll phone you.

We'll go if you want.

Sit down, ma'am.

I'll meet you there.

I'll grab a taxi.

Let him go on ahead. We can both take a cab.

Make up your mind.

What's the address?

What did he say?

I know as much English as you do.

We've been waiting a half hour. What kept you?

Nothing. I had an accident...

I was in the cab, and just at the corner...

the "corner" of the street...

Two cars, you know...

The entire fender was torn off.

The two drivers started trading insults...

So I found another cab. That's why...

That's why, what?

What? Why I got here late.

I had to walk God knows how long...

From S. Angelo to Piazza Venezia to find a cab.

Anyway, I don't give a damn. I'm not interested in your story.

Still, it took me 20 minutes.

You don't believe me. - We'll discuss it later.

I'm going for a walk.

All right.

Why don't you say something?

Friday we shoot in Capri. Come with us.

Answer her. Why don't you speak up?

What were you doing before I arrived?

Nothing special.

Why? Did he come on to you?

- Why ask me that? - Just because.

I'll go wash my hands.

- Where can I wash? - Upstairs, right.

What's the matter? You look down.

Nothing.

Have you been crying?

Your boss is tough.

He is.

Known him long?

What did he do before movies?

I don't want to talk about it.

I was just asking.

It's a drag to be so cute and so sad.

Haven't you anything more amusing to say?

More amusing...

Ajoke.

Which one?

Sure, the one about Rama Krishna and his disciple.

Rama Krishna is a Hindu sage.

He has this disciple

who doesn't believe in his master's teachings.

He decides to study on his own.

So he goes away.

After 1 5 years, he comes back and says: "I've found it!"

Found what?

He tells the sage: "I'll show you."

He takes him to the riverbank.

The disciple walks back and forth across the water.

And he says:
"You see? I can cross without getting wet.

Now I know!"

So Rama Krishna replies:

"You fool! I did that 1 0 years ago with a rupee and a rowboat!"

Feel better now?

That's good.

What?

Call that washing your hands?

As you can see.

I was just telling her the joke...

I believe you already.

You're being an idiot.

Where can I pee?

Tell them we're leaving.

It's my husband who decides.

Like in the United Artists days.

He's crazy!

See that? He kicked her!

You change your mind fast. Monday you thought he was terrific.

Now I think he's a jerk.

I have a right to change my mind.

What happened in the past hour?

Nothing.

If you're happy, so am I.

Rio Bravo is playing in town.

So is Nicholas Ray's Bigger Than Life.

I'm not interested.

- I wrote it. - I know.

I phoned your mom's at lunchtime. There was no answer.

We ate here. I didn't feel like going out.

I prefer it here.

It's better than a hotel.

See? I was right.

What are they paying for the script?

$1 0,000. Six million lire.

We can finish paying off the flat. Isn't that great?

Yes, it's great.

When will you call your friend about the curtains?

I've about had it!

Rate this script:4.8 / 4 votes